A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered Richard Sackler and his wife, Lin Gao, to stop interfering with the sale of their sprawling Greenwich, Connecticut mansion — a property pledged as collateral to help fund the Sackler family's $7.4 billion opioid settlement. The ruling, issued Wednesday, means the six-bedroom estate at 60 Field Point Circle is one step closer to being sold off to help pay victims of the opioid crisis.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane denied Sackler and Gao’s requests to reconsider his earlier ruling allowing the sale and to pause the process, according to srnnews.com. The case was heard in White Plains, New York, where Lane has presided over Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy proceedings. The New York Post reported that Lane rejected the couple’s position that the mansion should be treated as their personal home rather than property subject to the sale process.
A Mansion Pledged to Pay Opioid Victims
The Greenwich estate spans nearly 10,500 square feet, with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, according to Zillow. The New York Post reported a municipal assessment of $65.45 million, citing a neighborhood source; that figure is not a sale price. The Greenwich Assessor’s Office says properties are assessed at 70 percent of fair market value. The estate was among assets Sackler family members pledged as collateral when the $7.4 billion settlement was negotiated, the Post reported. According to srnnews.com, the property was transferred between two Sackler family trusts, freeing funds for a $62 million settlement payment.
Most of that $7.4 billion settlement is earmarked for state and local governments to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits tied to the opioid epidemic, the same report states. Settlement funds more broadly are intended to support addiction treatment, prevention and recovery efforts, according to the New York Attorney General, whose office separately said the funding will reach communities nationwide over the next 15 years. Michigan's attorney general has said the $7.4 billion settlement became legally effective on May 1, 2026.
How the Settlement Is Paid and Used
The national settlement’s scheduled payments include $1.5 billion from the Sacklers and roughly $900 million from Purdue in the first payment, followed by $500 million after one year, another $500 million after two years and $400 million after three years, according to the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office. Separately, Connecticut’s general framework for opioid-litigation proceeds covers substance-use-disorder abatement, including prevention, treatment, recovery and harm reduction, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services says; that framework does not specify an allocation from the Purdue settlement.
Judge Warns of Delayed Payments to Victims
Lane did not order Sackler and Gao to leave immediately, but warned that continued efforts to retain the mansion could delay payments owed to opioid victims. He told the couple’s attorney, Stephan Hornung, “this is not a victimless crime,” and said he was profoundly concerned victims might have to wait longer for payments due to them.
Lin Gao and her children reportedly live in the mansion, a detail that has complicated both the sale of the property and the artwork inside it, per the Post's account. Sackler, 81, owns four other homes, including his primary residence in Florida, so the Greenwich estate isn't his only place to live. He and Gao plan to appeal Lane's earlier ruling on the property sale, srnnews.com reported.
Sackler's Role at Purdue and the Broader Reckoning
Sackler previously served as Purdue Pharma's president and chairman, leading the company during its aggressive marketing push for OxyContin. Purdue twice pleaded guilty to criminal charges tied to that marketing, though no member of the Sackler family has been criminally charged in connection with the opioid crisis the drug helped fuel. Separately, Justice Department evidence has indicated individual Sackler family members agreed to pay the United States $225 million under a civil settlement distinct from the bankruptcy deal.
The fight over the Greenwich mansion isn't an isolated skirmish — a separate case reviewed by Law360 found that an attempt to evict a member of Purdue's former owning family from a Connecticut home and sell it to pay opioid claims did not violate the terms of the drugmaker's bankruptcy settlement. Attorneys for Sackler and Gao have not publicly detailed their next move, though the Post noted it reached out to the couple's legal team for comment.
